Thousands Occupy Tel Aviv, Police Respond With Brutal Force

Police arrested eighty-nine protesters after more than 6,500 people flooded Tel Aviv’s Habima Square Saturday night to protest the arrest of Daphni Leef, the leader of last summer’s mass protests against inequality and the high cost of housing in Israel.

Tel Aviv District Commander Aharon Eksel told Haaretz, “Protesters crossed the line. They set out to clash with the police.”
Police also say the protest was illegal, and that protesters attacked inspectors and police by spitting and throwing objects.

In rhetoric that should sound familiar to any American protester, demonstrator Khen Tsubery told the Jerusalem Post that the lack of a permit was intentional because permits are difficult to obtain.

Ynet News painted a much more violent image of the protest, choosing to focus on vandalization incidents involving shattered windows and protesters charging into banks as part of what the outlet dramatically described as “socioeconomic riots.”

Activists claim one protester, Moshe Menkin, was arrested by an undercover police officer after entering an abandoned building that the police were using as a staging area.

Israeli police arrest social protest movement leader and break up demonstrations
By Jean Shaoul
27 June 2012
On Friday, a few hundred activists attempted to set up a tent city again on Tel Aviv’s Rothschild Boulevard. Riot police moved in forcefully to prevent them from occupying the boulevard, a sign that the Israeli authorities are determined that there be no mass protests again this year. Five police officers seized Daphne Leif, one of the leaders of last year’s social protest movement that saw 500,000 people take to the streets. They pinned her down and beat her, before dragging her along the street, throwing her into a police van and taking her to the police station. Leif was later released on bail. She said that police officers had bruised and humiliated her.

Municipal inspectors and Tel Aviv mayor Ron Huldai’s “Green Patrol” helped the police push back the protesters, arresting another 12. Huldai, a former brigadier general, had taken part in last year’s protests. The violent scenes were photographed and widely distributed, causing widespread outrage.

On Saturday evening, up to 7,000 people gathered in Habima Square in downtown Tel Aviv to voice their opposition to the detention of the 12 activists, Leif’s arrest, and police behaviour. They chanted slogans demanding social justice and opposing police brutality, while others condemned the close ties between Israeli politicians and big business. Some opposed the occupation and defended Palestinian rights, with one banner reading, “Democracy for All, from the Jordan to the Sea”.

The police responded swiftly and with force to break up the demonstration, claiming that it was illegal as it had not been cleared with the authorities first. Angry scuffles and clashes broke out, as youth battled with the police.

3. It's interesting that our MSM has not covered the Israeli demonstrations, not just this one, but

the huge demonstrations that occurred last summer. Protesters in Israel commented on RT that that they were upset by the fact that their protests were being ignored by the Western media.

The other protesters who joined the Arab uprisings last year were Iraqis. They were very peaceful and organized, much of the organization was available online. Our newly created 'democracy' crushed those peaceful demonstrations instantly killing 29 unarmed protesters across the country and arresting and jailing hundreds.

But there was a media blackout of these two countries' attempts to join the other protests.

I saw coverage of all of them on RT, including the ongoing and very large protests in Russia, also not covered much here.

4. Let us not forget Occupy Hong Kong-

HSBC said Monday it has launched legal action in a bid to end the anti-capitalist Occupy movement in Hong Kong, where the protesters have camped out at its headquarters for eight months.The "Occupy Central" group has set up tents in the public passageway on the ground floor of the HSBC headquarters since October, when similar protests were launched across Asia by the "Occupy Wall Streets" and "Indignants" movements.
The banking giant said it applied to the city's high court last Friday for an eviction order, after previous attempts to ask the small group of protesters to leave failed.
"We asked them to vacate voluntarily and we haven't really heard anything formal from them so we went to court," HSBC Hong Kong spokesman Gareth Hewett told AFP.
He said the court will decide on the ownership of the area, which acts as a public passageway and protesters say is a public area, but HSBC maintain the space is the bank's property.
"If the court decides that it is private property, a bailiff will be appointed by the court and then the bailiff will act in regards to repossesing the private property," Hewett said.
The Hong Kong group is the latest "Occupy" contingent to face legal action after authorities in cities from New York to London have moved to evict protesters.
But in Hong Kong the protesters have vowed to stay on.
"We will try our best to maintain this site," 46-year-old Alan Chiu, who is unemployed, told AFP at the site, where there are about 15 tents.
Hong Kong, the Asian financial hub of seven million people is known for its super-rich tycoons, low taxes and teeming shopping districts.
But it is also a case study in economic inequality, with thousands of low-income residents forced to live in "cage" accommodation because of the skyrocketing cost of housing fuelled by wealthy property speculators.
Official figures released last week showed the wealth gap in the city, already one of the world's widest, was worsening.
Currently the wealth gap in Hong Kong is around the same as Thailand and ranks among the highest in Asia, worse than mainland China, Singapore and Vietnam.
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http://news.yahoo.com/hsbc-bid-evict-hong-kong-occupy-protesters-195302968.html